Article carrier



Jan. 16, 1968 J. CHAUSS-ADAS ARTICLE CARRIER Filed Aug. 9, 1965 INVENTOR JEAN CHAUSS ADAS ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,363,752 ARTICLE CARRIER Jean Chaussadas, Paris, France, assignor to The Mead Corporation, a corporation of Ohio Filed Aug. 9, 1965, Ser. No. 478,104 2 Claims. (Cl. lilo-65) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention is applicable to a wrapper-type article carrier for use in packaging a plurality of bottles the caps of which are provided with outwardly extending radial projections for rendering the bottles easily opena'ble and by the invention the sloping shoulder panels of the wrapper which lie adjacent the bottle shoulders are provided with arcuate slits which with the conventional cap openings at the fold lines between the top panel and the shoulder panels define protective flaps which overlie the bottle cap projections and which condition the wrapper for packaging bottles irrespective of the orientation of the outwardly protruding projections of the bottle caps.

This invention relates to article carriers and more particularly to article carriers for packaging primary packages such as bottles having caps on which outwardly protruding projections are formed for manual removal of the caps.

In packaging primary articles such as bottles, for ex ample, in a wrap-around type package, it is customary to form the package with a degree of tightness sufficient to preclude dislodgment of the packaged items outwardly through the open ends of the wrapper. Furthermore, it is customary in such pack-ages to form slots or openings at the corners of the package for receiving the bottle caps and for receiving the lower portion of the bottles as an aid to preventing dislodgment of the articles through the open ends of the wrapper. Where the caps of the packaged primary packages are provided with radial projections for rendering the bottle caps easily removable manually, it is difiicult if not impossible to achieve the required degree of tightness and the desired orientation of the primary packages without a considerable wastage of time and eliort whereby the outward protrusions of the bottle caps are oriented so as to extend in a direction inwardly of the package and thereby to avoid interference with the packaging operations by the radial protrusions of the bottle caps.

A principal object of this invention is to provide for eflicient packaging of capped articles wherein the articles may have tapered shoulders and wherein the caps of such articles are provided with radial projections.

Another object of this invention is the provision of an improved article wrapper of the wrap-around type which is specially adapted for packaging capped articles in which the caps are provided with radial projections irrespective of the orientation of the primary packages or the direction in which the protrusions on the caps extend.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wrapper constructed according to this invention and showing the packaged primary articles within the wrapper; FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view of the upper portion of a bottle having a cap which is provided with a radially extending projection for rendering the cap manually removable; FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion only of the package as depicted in FIG. 1 and showing the relationship of the package to the primary article when the radially extending projection of the cap extends outwardly of 3,363,752 Patented Jan. 16, 1968 the package; and in which FIG. 4 is a plan view of a blank from which the package depicted in FIGS. 1 and 3 is formed.

In the drawings, the numeral 1 is used to designate the top center panel of the wrapper. A pair of finger gripping openings or tabs are struck from panel 1 and are designated in the drawings by the numerals 2 and 3. Foldably joined along the side edges of top center panel 1 are the sloping panels 4 and 5. Sloping panel 4 is foldably joined to the side edge of top center panel 1 along fold line 6 while sloping panel 5 is foldably joined to the other side edge of top center panel 1 along fold line 7.

For the purpose of receiving the caps of the packaged bottles, a plurality of arcuate slots are formed along the fold lines 6 and 7. These slots are designated in FIG. 4 by the numerals 8-13, inclusive. Of course, the slots 8-13 serve as an aid in preventing dislodgment of the packaged bottles outwardly through the open ends of the wrapper.

Side walls 14 and 15 are folda-bly joined respectively to the lower edges of the sloping panels 4 and 5 along the fold lines 16 and 17.

For the purpose of aiding in holding the bottoms of the bottles in the wrapper, sloping panels 18 and 19 are foldably joined to the lower edges of side walls 14 and 15 along fold lines 29 and 21, respectively, and a plurality of openings are formed in the panels 18 and 19 and are designated by the numerals 22-27, inclusive. As is Well known, these openings receive the lower portions of the bottles as is best shown in FIG. 1 and serve as an aid in preventing dislodgment of the bottles from the wrapper.

The bottom of the wrapper as depicted in the drawings is a composite structure made up of a lap panel 28 which is foldably joined along fold line 29 to the bottom edge of sloping panel 18 and a similar lap panel 36 which is foldably joined along fold line 31 to the bottom edge of sloping panel 19. For the purpose of tightening the package, a pair of tightening apertures designated by the numerals 32 and 33 are formed in lap panel 28 and similar type apertures 34 and 35 are formed within the lap panel 30. Suitable machine elements enter each of these tightening apertures and move inwardly toward each other so as to tighten the package about the article group. Once the package is appropriately tightened, the lap panels 28 and 30 are fastened together while being maintained in the tightened condition.

For the purpose of securing the lap panels 28 and 30 together, a plurality of locking tabs 36-39 are formed in one of the lap panels such as 28 and a plurality of retaining tabs such as 4043 are formed in the other lap panel such as 30. With the package appropriately tightened, suitable machine elements engage the locking ta'bs 36-39 and drive them upwardly and through the openings defined by the retaining tabs 4043, respectively. Thereafter, the package is completed an appears as depicted in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, a primary package such as a bottle B provided with a cap C may also be provided with a radially extending protrusion P. If when the primary packages designated at B are assembled, the protrusions P extend in a generally outward direction of the package group, these projections will interfere with the formation of the package. If the primary packages were reoriented so as to insure that the radial protrusions always extended inwardly of the package, such reorientation would require considerable expenditure of time and probably would result in undue interference with the packaging operation. Thus, in accordance with this invention means are provided for accommodating the outwardly extending protrusion P should they occupy a position of interference with the packaging operation and more particularly with the sloping panels 4 and 5. Thus, according to the invention a plurality of openings 44, 45 and 46 are formed in the sloping panel 4 and in general alignment with a bend line 47 also formed in that panel. In like fashion, openings 48, 49 and 50 are formed in the sloping panel 5 in general alignment with a weakened bend line 51. Preferably, the openings 44-46 and 4-8-50 are arcuate in shape and are generally concentric with the associated slots 8-13. Thus, as is depicted in FIG. 4 the protrusion P may extend through the openings such as 48 without interfering with the packaging operation or the appearance of the package. While for purposes of clarity in FIG. 4, the projection P is shown extending well outwardly from the opening 48, it generally would be preferable to have the protrusion P covered up almost entirely by the flap defined by the arcuate opening 48.

While the invention is shown and described with reference to a single top center panel, it will be understood that a composite top structure could be used and could comprise overlapping or medially abutting top panels. Furthermore, the invention may be used to package a single row of bottles, if desired, as will be obvious.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, the invention is not limited thereto and it is intended in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A carrier for packing a plurality of articles arranged in a side-by-side rectilinear relation and having tapered shoulders and caps with radial projections, said carrier comprising a top center panel overlying the caps of the articles, a pair of sloping panels foldably joined to the side edges of said top center panel and disposed adjacent the tapered shoulders of the articles, a plurality of armate slots formed along the fold lines between said top panel and each of said sloping panels, and a plurality of arcuate openings formed in said sloping panels and respectively disposed adjacent the caps of the packaged articles and in generally concentric relation to said arcuate slots respectively to define protective flaps overlying and adapted substantially to cover said projections, said openings being arranged to receive the radial projections of said caps so that the packaged articles may be arranged at random about vertical axes and Without regard to whether the radial projections are disposed to protrude in an outward direction of the carrier or not.

2. A carrier according to claim 1 wherein bend lines are formed in each of said sloping panels and in general alignment with the ends of said openings.

References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 1,879,105 9/1932 Corigliano 2( 645.l4 1,968,877 8/1934 Cubberley 206- 3,187,919 6/1965 Inglis 2l546 X 3,200,982 8/1965 Cormier 215-46 3,269,531 8/1966 Weiss 206-65 MARTHA L. RICE, Primary Examiner. 

